Power lift



April 13, 1937.

M. G, ROPER POWER LIFT Filed Dec. 21, 1935 s Sheets-Sheet 1 April 13, 1937. M. G. ROPER POWER LIFT Filed Dec. 21, 1955 I s sheets-sheet 2 M. G. ROPER April 13, 1937.

POWER LIFT Filed Dec. 21, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented A r. s, 1937 UNITED" STATES PATENT OFFlCE vznflfi'l3 Marlon$$f$em1bm December 21, 1935, Serial No. 55,674

4 claims. (or. 91-50) This invention relates to agricultural implements and more particularly to a power lift constituting an accessory for an agricultural implement and serving as means whereby the planter and a cultivator operatively associated with a tractor may be vertically adjusted and supported either in an operative position or in an elevated position out of engagement with the ground.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the hoist that it may be actuated by power obtained from the engine of the tractor and thus making it unnecessary to provide a special motor for actuating the hoist.

Another object of the invention is to permit the hoist when actuated to raise the shovels of the cultivator and planter to a desired height above the ground and, in addition, permit the cultivator and planter to be manually adjusted, as well as by means of the power lift, and thus accurately regulate the extent to which the shovels enter the ground when in a lowered position.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character which can be very easily applied to a tractor of a conventional construction and operatively associated with a cultivator and a planter of a conventional construction carried by the tractor.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a view showing the improved power lift applied to a tractor of a conventional construction and having a cultivator and a planter connected thereto. 7

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the improved power lift partially in side elevation and partially in vertical section.

Figure 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of Figure 2 and showing the power lift in top plan.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view taken along the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

The tractor, which is indicated in general by the numeral I, is of a conventional construction and has a cultivator 2 of a conventional construction mounted at its front which includes a frame 8 at each side of the tractor carrying depending shovels 4 for opening the ground as the cultivator moves forwardly with the tractor. A planter 5 is mounted at the rear of the tractor and this implement is also of a conventional construction having an axle 6 of crank shaft formation engaged by a latch lever i sothat when the lever is moved to an adjusted position the shaft will be turned in the usual bearings 8 and the furrow opener 9 of the planter vertically adjusted. At the present time, it is customary to operatively connect cultivators and planters with'tractors and vertically adjust the planter and the blade carrying frames of the cultivator by means of levers mounted upon the tractor and actuated by the operator of the tractor. This has been found unsatisfactory as a great deal of effort is required to move the levers due to the weight of the vertically shiftable' portions of the planter and the cultivator. In the present construction, there has been provided a bar III which extends. forwardly from the upper end of the lever I and has its forward end pivoted to a lever II fixed to a bracket I2 carried by a shaft I3 extending transversely across the tractor in front ofthe drivers seat I4. This shaft is mounted in bearing brackets I5 carried 'by' the frame of the tractor at opposite sides thereof and it will be readily understood that when the shaft I3 is rotated in one direction, the lever I will be moved to shift the planter upwardly, whereas when the shaft is rotated in an opposite direction, the

planter will be lowered and its blade 9 caused to enter the ground a desired distance. The blade carrying frames 3 of the cultivator are pivotally mounted at their forward ends and carry upstanding arms IB engaged by bars I'I extending rearwardly at opposite sides of the tractor. Rear ends of the bars are pivoted to latch levers I8 carried by racks I9 which are bolted or otherwise firmly secured to brackets 20 carried by. and extending rearwardly from the shaft I3 and by.an inspection of Figures 1 and 2 it will be readily seen that when the shaft I3 is rotated in one direction, the bars I? will be shifted forwardly to swing the frames 3 upwardly and move the blades 4 out of the ground, whereas when the shaft I3 is rotated in an opposite direction, rearward pull will be exerted upon the bars I! and the frames 3 swung downwardly to cause the cultivator blades to enter the ground. Since the levers I8 are latch levers pivoted to the racks I9,

they may be manually adjusted to cause the blades 4 to enter the ground the desired distance when the frames 3 are lowered by rotation of the shaft I3 its full extent in the last-mentioned direction.

The mechanism, by means of which rotation of the shaft I3 is controlled, is carried by the tractor at one side thereof, as shown in Figure 1, and operatively associated with a lever or arm 2i which is curved longitudinally and extends down wardly at a forward incline from the lower arm of the bracket I2 with its lower end extending through a slot 22 formed longitudinally in a plate or bracket 23. This bracket or plate 23 extends horizontally and is formed with an attaching flange 24 bolted or otherwise rigidLv secured against the outer side face of the adjacent chassis bar I! of thetractor. The arm or lever II also extendsthroughanopeningformedinthehead ll of a rod 21 projecting from one end of a cylinder II. This rod 21 extends longitudinally in the'cylinder which is flrmly secured againstthe chassisbar llby brackets II and at its inner end lovcarries a piston '30. It will-thus be seen that when the piston is moved longitudinally in the I cylinder toward the rear end thereof by fluid entering the front end of the cylinder through thepipe ii, the lever II will be swung rearwardly by the rearwardly moving piston rod and the shaft ll rotated to swing the levers II and I8 forwardly. As these levers move forwardly, the bar I! will be forced forwardly to swing the cultivator frames 3 upwardly and move the culti- 2 vator blades out of the ground and at the same time pull will be exerted upon the bar It by the lever II to vertically adjust the planter. As the lever It is at all times engaged in the slot 22, it

cannot become disconnected from the head it of 25 the piston rod and, therefore, rotary motion will alwaysbe transmitted to the shaft "when the piston is moved rearwardly and when fluid is released from the forward portion of the cylinder and the piston moved forwardly by the weight of the frames land the cultivator moving them downwardly there will be-no danger of the lever 2| slipping outof the head 26. The fact that the piston forces fluid out of the cylinder through the pipe II as it moves forwardly will prevent the cultivator frames and the planter from moving too rapidly as they move downwardly. I

'Ihe fluid which is supplied to the cylinder to force the piston rearwardly may be oil or any other desired liquid and is contained in a re- 40 ceptacle or reservoir 32 mounted upon a bracket "secured tothe chassisbarllinfrontof the cylinder. This container or receptacle extends vertically and at its upper end is provided with a fliling neck It normally closed by a cap ll so that a liquid can be poured into the receptaclewhen necessary. A rotary pump 38 is mounted in the receptacle by being secmed against the front wall thereof and the pipe or tube ll also enters this receptacle near its bottom. Within the receptacle the tube or pipe is extended upwardly, as shown at 31, and then forwardly, as shown at It, and downwardly with its front end coupled to the outlet at the upper end of the casing of the rotary pump. The inlet tube or pipe SI of the pump extends downwardly from the pump casing and terminates close to the bottom of the receptacle. Therefore, when the pump is in operation, oil may be drawn upwardly from the bottom of the casing to the pump and forced to through the tube or pipe ll into the forward end of the cylinder to move the piston rearwardly. This piston is forced rearwardly until it passes an outlet port lll leading upwardly from the cylinder intermediate the length thereof at which 05 time the oil will pass through this outlet port and flow through the pipe or tube ll leading forwardly to the receptacle and entering the same through the rear wall thereof. The level of the oil in the receptacle is below the pipe 4| and,

therefore, a good circulation may take place and while the piston will be held against forward movement, there will be no danger of the piston being forced rearwardly to such an extent that the mechanism will be broken.

The pump is to be driven from the motor 42 of the tractor and, therefore, the shaft 48 of the rotary pump projects forwardly from the receptacle and has its front end mounted in the bearing 44 provided at the upper end of a bracket 48. This bracket is preferably secured to thetank or receptsclaasshown inl'igure2.butmaybe secured to any convenient'support and the shaft carries a clutch disc 40 which is fixed thereto and alsoapulleyl'l which turnsfreelyupon the shaft and has clutch elements it for eng sins the companion clutch elements I carried by the disc It;

It willthusbeseenthatwhenthepulleyisshifted forwardly along the shaft to move its clutch elements into engagement with the clutch elements of the disc 40, the shaft will berotated and the pump set in operation. The belt II, by means of which rotarymotion is transmitted to the Wiley 41, en ages about apulley ll iixed upon the shaft 52 of the engine, forwardly of the pulley 83 engaged by the fan belt it. Therefore the pulley 41 will be rotated whenever the engineof the tractor is in operation but the pump II will only be set in, motion during the time thepulley is shifted forwardly into position for engagement with the clutch disc. This p lley 41 has its hub It extended rearwardly and formed with a groove for engagement by forks at the lower end of a lever ll poiled vertically and pivoted to a bracket is carried by the receptacle. At its upper end the lever I1 is engaged by a link or rod ll extending forwardly from one end of a cross head I. carried by the stem of a valve ll mounted in a branch Pipe "leading from the pipe ti and entering the receptacle near the upper end thereof. The-other end of the .cross head is engaged by a rod 03 extending forwardly from an operating lever 04 pivoted to.a bracket 06 and disposed in front of the shaft I! in such position that it may be easily grasped by the operator of the tractor. when the operating lever is shifted forwardly to move the cross head in a direction to closethevaivelhpullwill beexerteduponthe rod "to rocktheleveri'l about its pivotand move the pulley ll forwardly into engagement with the clutchdisc 40 and thus cause the pump to be set in motion. Oil will, then be forced through the pipe, 3| into the cylinder 20 to move the piston rearwardly until it passes the port 4|, at which time oil will flow through the ipe ll back into 'the receptacle. The cultivator frames will thus be swung upwardly to an elevated position and the planter also vertically adjusted and maintained in the vertically adjusted position as the oil in the forward portion of the cylinder will prevent return movement of the piston. When it is desired to lower the cultivator frames and return the planter to its original'position, it is merely necessary to draw the lever 04 rearwardly and thus move the cross head in a direction to open the valve Ii and actuate the lever II to 0 move the pulley 41 away from the clutch disc. The valve ti being open, the oil in the pipe SI and the forward portion of the cylinder will no longer be held under compression and maybe forced through the branch pipe '62 and'into the upper 6 end of the receptacle. Therefore, weight of the cultivator frames and the vertically shiftable portion of the planter may return them to the normal position in which the blades enter the ground. As the pump is only operated when the 7 clutch members of the pulley 41 are in engagement with the clutch members of the disc 46, the pump will not be operated except when vertically adjusting the planter and the cultivator, although the pulley 41 will continue to rotate as 7 long as the motor of the tractor is in operation. It will thus be seen that by means of this power lift the cultivator and the planter may be very easily vertically adjusted and maintained in an elevated position.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In an agricultural implement, a tractor, a cultivator carried by said tractor, a. planter carried by the tractor, manually operated means for vertically adjusting the planter and the cultivator, and power operated meansfor vertically adjusting the cultivator and the planter including a rotatably mounted rock shaft, an arm extending downwardly from the rock shaft, a horizontal cylinder, a piston s'lidable in said cylinder and having a rod extending from the cylinder and having an eye at its outerend slidably receiving the lower end portion of said arm whereby longitudinal movement of said piston rod will impart swinging movement to the arm and rotate the rock shaft, a container, means for circulating fluid between the container and cylinder to shift the piston longitudinally in the cylinder including a pump having a rotary drive shaft, means for transmitting rotary motion to the drive shaft of the pump from the motor of the tractor, and means for controlling rotation of the drive shaft by the last-mentioned means including an actuating lever carried by the tractor.

2. In combination with a tractor and agricultural implements associated therewith, means for vertically adjusting the agricultural implements including a rocker shaft carried by the tractor, an arm extending from the rocker shaft, a cylinder, a piston in said cylinder having a rod extending therefrom and engaged with said arm, a container, a rotary pump in said container having .a drive shaft extending from the container, a pipe leading from the pump to said cylinder whereby fluid may be delivered into the cylinder and imparting movement to said piston in one direction, a return pipe leading from the cylinder to said casing, a branch pipe leading from the first pipe to the cylinder whereby fluid may flow back through the first pipe and branch pipe into the container when the pistorfmoves in the opposite direction, means for imparting rotarymotion to the pump shaft from the motor of the tractor, and means for controlling rotation of the pump shaft and flow of fluid through the branch pipe.

3. A tractor having agricultural implements associated therewith and power operated means for vertically adjusting the agricultural implements including a rocker shaft having an arm extending therefrom, a cylinder having a piston slidable therein and provided with a piston rod extending from the cylinder and engaged with said arm, a container, a pump in said container having a rotary drive shaft extending from the container, a pipe leading to said cylinder for delivering fluid under pressure into the cylinder and moving the piston and its piston rod in one direction, a branch pipe extending from said pipe to said container whereby fluid may flow back through the first pipe and branch pipe into the container when the piston moves in an opposite direction, a valve for the-branch pipe, an over-.

flow pipe leading from the cylinder to the container, a clutch member carried by the pump shaft, a pulley loose upon thepump shaft and adapted to receive rotary motion from the motor of the tractor, a lever for moving said pulley into and out of gripping engagement with the clutch member of the shaft, an operative connection between the lever and valve for moving the pulley into engagement with the clutch member when the valve is closed and moving the pulley away 'gfrom the clutch member when the valve {is opened, and manually operated means for opening and closing said valve.

4. A. tractor having a vertically adjustable agricultural implement associated therewith, and power operated means for vertically adjusting the agricultural implement including a rocker shaft, an arm for controlling rotation of the rocker shaft, 9. cylinder, a piston in the cylinder having a rod extending from the cylinder and engaged with said arm, a container mounted upon said tractor, a pump in said container having a rotary drive shaft projecting from the container, a pipe leading from said pump to said cylinder for delivering fluid into'the cylinder and effecting sliding of the piston in one direction and rotating the rocker shaft to effect vertical adjustment of the agricultural implement, an overflow pipe leading from the cylinder to the container above the normal level of liquid in the container, a branch pipe leading from the first pipe to the upper portion of the container, a valve for the branch pipe, a cross arm carried by the stem of said valve, a clutch member fixed to the pump shaft, a pulley loose upon the pump shaft having clutch elements for engaging the clutch member of the shaft when the pulley is shifted toward the clutch member of the shaft, a lever pivotally mounted and having one end portion engaging said pulley, a link connecting the other end of said lever with one end of the cross head of said valve, an adjusting lever carried by said tractor, and a rod connecting said adjusting lever with the other end of the cross head of the valve.

MARION G. ROPER. 

